My Fair Nanny
by RevSue
Summary: CROSSOVER: Eloise & a My Fair Lady character .... What happened when one of Nanny's cousins came to the Plaza on Christmas Eve?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters since the Eloise movies and the characters are the property of Disney and Kay Thompson, and the new character is loosely based on someone in a certain movie (since I never saw the screenplay nor read the book) produced by Jack L. Warner. A number of the ideas are Kathy's and tay's, not to mention any others I see lying around and just grab for my own uses! I make no money from this work of fiction! And many thanks to Dorthe for the beta work!_

As Nanny's lips touched his cheek, Wilkes felt his jaw sag in shock. Then he pulled himself together and hung his head. Realizing she was embarrassed by his reaction, however, he smiled sheepishly at her even as the colour rose dully in his cheeks. Then attention thankfully was drawn away from him and Nanny when Eloise shrieked, "Maman!"

After the flurry of introductions, during which Bill continued to play Christmas carols on the piano for others to sing, Wilkes put his hand under Nanny's elbow and gently drew her around to the other side of the tree. She looked at his hand on her arm, then up at him. "Sir Wilkes?"

"Nanny, I..." He swallowed, not quite sure how to say what was on his mind: how he so appreciated her open, friendly nature, her vivaciousness, her love and care for Eloise, her shy adoration of himself... how he was beginning to want more from her than mere friendly acquaintanceship... how he thought he might be falling in love with her more and more every day, no matter how ridiculous that sounded at their age.

He had searched long and hard for the perfect Christmas gift for her, and had finally found something worthy of her that very afternoon. He wondered if she would agree to come to his suite later this evening or sometime tomorrow so he could present it to her, and perhaps share a glass of wine or eggnog. The spirits would surely loosen his tongue and bolster his courage! There was even more chance of it happening now that Eloise's mother was home, so his dreams were buoyed considerably. "Nanny, I was hoping..."

Just then, another commotion was heard by the doors, and a loud voice was heard demanding entrance and information, "in that order, my good bloke!" Both Nanny and Wilkes turned to see who was coming in. The man lifted his hat in appreciation to Charlie for holding the door open and pointing to the desk, sweeping him an elaborate bow and staggering only slightly.

Wilkes heard Nanny catch her breath, and looked at her quickly to see her staring in astonishment at the stranger. Then the man by the doors straightened up and looked in their direction. He broke into a wide grin, stretched out his arms and strode towards them. "NAN!" he cried aloud. "My NAN! I come to look for you, and 'ere you are, waiting in the bloody lobby!"

"A... Alfie?" Nanny's disbelieving whisper drew Wilkes' eyes to her face. She knew this man, that was very evident. "Aoww, ALFIE!" Nanny tugged her arm out of Wilkes' grasp but only needed to take a couple of steps before being caught in the other man's embrace.

Wilkes frowned slightly, then stepped back as Nanny and the stranger hugged each other tightly, he planting a loud, smacking kiss on her lips. Gritting his teeth, Wilkes wondered if she returned the kiss, but hadn't the nerve to watch that closely.

"Alfie, I cawn't believe you're HERE!" Nanny held the other man's face between her hands and her eyes ran over it hungrily. "Aoww, you 'aven't changed a bit!"

Alfie stuck out his chest and laughed boisterously, "I 'ave at that, Nan, love! I 'AVE changed! I'm a rich bloke now, more's the pity! YOU'VE changed, tho'! You used to be scrawny, bowlegged, cross-eyed... and look at you now! Just LOOK at those delectable curves!" He winked at her wickedly. "And your botto... you still can't stay away from the chocolate fudge, same as always!" His hand slapped her rear end.

Wilkes felt his eyes widen in shock at the man's familiarity... in public!

"Aowww, Alfie..." she scoffed, her eyes dancing, then she hugged him again. "Whatever brought you this far, and at CHRISTMAS, for Lord's sake?"

Feeling an unpleasant sensation overtaking his usual mild temper, Wilkes realized that he was JEALOUS! Whoever this Alfie was, he obviously meant something to Nanny. For the first time, Wilkes realized that Nanny meant far more to him than he had ever suspected in the last few months as their relationship had grown beyond merely speaking to each other in the hallway or elevator. He wasn't going to give her up without a fight!

"Liza told me she and 'enry and the kids were going to their friend's place... a bloomin' castle! Naturally she worried about me bein' alone over the 'olidays until I said I was thinkin' of visiting my Nan for Christmas! I tried to get a flight, but the ruddy snow... well, in the end, Liza's friend, Colonel Pickering, found a connection from Paris..."

"Aoww yes, we 'eard about the problems with the snow. Kay almost didn't make it 'ome either! I'm looking after her daughter, Eloise, you know. Kay came from Paris tonight, too... Why, you must 'ave been on the same plane!"

"Spect we was, 'spect we was. Not that I noticed 'er, you know! I'm supposed to be a married man, I am... tied up right and proper." He looked mournful for a few seconds, then fixed Nanny with a bit of a glare. "Now see 'ere, Nan, I wanna find out all about your bloke... in your letters to Liza, she said you was seein' a KNIGHT! Sir Somebody? Just a little above our station, don't you think? I ask you, Nan... a KNIGHT?"

Nanny flushed and Wilkes, startled to hear that she had obviously WRITTEN to someone about him, moved a little closer to the pair still clinging to each other.

Alfie continued, "Nan, love, 'ow can you even THINK about someone else like, well, like that other bloke what broke your 'eart... I won't permit it, you know! I won't!"

"Aoww, Alfie, it's not like that...."

Alfie kissed her again enthusiastically, and Wilkes winced. "It makes me very, VERY 'appy to 'ear that, love!" Alfie declared. "Don't you think we deserve to MEET this supposed paragon? I mean, if 'e's even 'alf what you make 'im out to be..."

Wilkes was surprised at the surge of hatred for this man who had waltzed in and seemed set on convincing Nanny that he, Wilkes, was not the man for her! And then dared to kiss her ... and what was worse, she LET him! He cleared his throat now, loudly and deliberately.

"Aoww, Sir Wilkes!" Nanny gasped, and tore herself out of Alfie's arms. "I'm so, so, so sorry! I MUST apologize... but I 'aven't seen my cousin for almost ten years..."

Cousin? Alfie was her COUSIN? Wilkes felt a cautious relief sweep through him. Then he winced as the phrase 'kissing cousins' crossed his mind.

"THIS is your bloke? Your knight in shinin' armour, so to speak?" Alfie's eyebrows raised in surprise.

Nanny, faintly pink with embarrassment, performed the introductions quickly. The two men eyed each other challengingly. Then Alfred said, "Seems as though you're not in 'er good books yet as she's still callin' you SIR Wilkes! Nan only shortens names when she's took sort of a fancy to you, if you know what I mean!" and he huffed out a breathy laugh, sending alcoholic fumes straight at Wilkes which almost knocked him over.

"Er, quite, quite..." Wilkes politely tried to stop breathing and stepped back just a bit... and Alfred's words sunk in. Nanny shortened names only when she... fancied the person? So, when she had called him 'Willy' tonight, could that mean...? He began to smile.

"Nan," Alfred had by now turned back to Nanny, "You wouldn't 'ave the 'eart to send me packing without a drop o' liquid protection and a place to lay me 'ead now, would you? Just for a few nights, like? You could say this is a flying visit!" Again he turned and breathed an alcoholic laugh at Wilkes who heroically contained his shudder of distaste.

"Aoww, my stars, stars, stars, Alfie! I'm sure the Plaza is absolutely full, full, FULL... and with Kay home... although, perhaps...." Nanny bit her thumbnail, deep in thought. Although she didn't want to actually come right out and SAY it, and much as she felt the family love for her cousin she SHOULD feel, she really did not want him around, especially if he was going to keep harping on how she should forget about Sir Wilkes! Then what he said sank in. "Just for few nights? For Lord's sake, Alfie, you can't have flown all the way for such a short time!"

Wilkes cleared his throat again. What better way to ensure seeing Nanny often the next few days than by offering to let her cousin stay in HIS suite? "I, er, happen to have an extra bedroom in my suite that, er, Alfred could occupy during his stay in New York. That, that is, if you wish..."

"Sir Wilkes, I cannot begin to thank you, but..." Nanny began. The last thing in the WORLD she wanted was to have Sir Wilkes exposed to her cousin Alfie for any length of time! She simply could not imagine Sir Wilkes and Alfie in the same suite since two more different men she had never met!

"Tosh, tosh, tosh," he interrupted her. "Actually, I'd be doing very little ..."

"Leave this to me, my boy!" Alfie grinned at Wilkes, then turned to Nanny, "You see, Nan, we men 'ave to stick together... for protection-like... and this way, we'll be able to find out all about each other. Is that unreasonable? I put it to you... and I leave it to you." Nanny gulped, and looked from one to the other. Alfie winked at Wilkes and confided, "She's got to listen to me now, 'cause I'm the 'ead of the family now. And the richest, I might add. An old bloke took a fancy to me philosophy as 'e called it, then when 'e died, 'e left me forty thousand pounds a year in his bloomin' will. 'Oo asked him to make a gentleman out of me? I was 'appy. I was free. I touched pretty nigh everyone for money when I wanted it, same as I touched him. Now, I'm tied neck and heels and everybody touches me. Fifteen years ago, I 'adn't a relation in the world 'cept Nan 'ere, and me daughter, Liza, and one or two others 'oo wouldn't speak to me. Then this 'appened upon me, and now, I've fifty relations with not a decent week's wages amongst the lot of 'em. Oh, I 'ave to live for others now, not for myself. I ask you! You must know something about that, gov'ner."

"Something," Wilkes agreed rather faintly, hiding his astonishment at the story, but never doubting its veracity.

"Money," Alfie said, gloomily, "makes a man feel... prudent-like, and then it's goodbye to 'appiness."

"Aowww, it's not as bad as all that, for Lord's sake!" Nanny said briskly. "Now, where are Eloise and Kay? I want you to meet them, Alfie..."

Alfie shook his head, and wheedled, "Come on, Nan, slip your ole cousin 'alf a pound to whet 'is whistle first, there's a noble cousin!"

"You're in America now, Alfred, you need AMERICAN money!" Nanny was exasperated. Couldn't the man leave off drinking for just a few hours? "And I don't think..."

"Allow me," Wilkes spoke up. "It would be my pleasure to treat you both to a Christmas drink. We could adjourn to the Oak Room. Nanny?"

"Aowww, I... well, I suppose I could... just a quick one..." Nanny looked around vaguely for Kay and Eloise, then spotted them talking with Mr. Peabody. "Excuse me for a moment..."

"We'll meet you there, Nan!" and Alfie seized Wilkes' arm before he could change his mind and marched him into the Oak Room Wilkes had indicated earlier.

The two commandeered a table near the entrance where Nanny would be sure to see them, and Alfie ordered two rounds of beer right off before Wilkes could say anything. When it was brought, Alfie waved at Wilkes. "Put it on 'is tab, and thank you very much!" Then, while Wilkes watched in amazement, Alfie guzzled his beer down quickly and belched appreciatively. "Now then," Alfie said, wiping his wet lips with the back of his hand and fixing Wilkes with a bleary stare. "I've come all the way to America about a very serious matter, gov'ner. A very serious matter indeed. I want to hear all about you and my Nan! I want to know your intentions towards 'er! I always knew she 'ad a career in front of 'er, but if she wants to change it to a career with you as something other than a WIFE, I think it's reasonable for me to check it out. Don't you agree, gov'ner? Is it fairity to take advantage of a man like that? I ask you again, is it fairity?"

"Er," Wilkes' mind was whirling. He tried to grasp the meaning of Alfie's words, but couldn't quite manage it. "Who exactly are you thinking is the one taking advantage of the other?"

Alfie drained his second tankard and smacked his lips, then he leered at Wilkes, "Well, I don't quite see you as the sort o' bloke what takes advantage o' innocent women, IF you know what I mean."

"Thank you. I think." Wilkes was still confused as to whether Alfred thought that he WAS taking advantage of Nanny, or that Nanny was NOT innocent, or that Nanny was taking advantage of HIM.

Nanny arrived at that point, as Alfie belched again loudly. She winced as she sat down, her eyes meeting Wilkes' briefly before she looked away. "Now then, Alfred," she said quietly but forcefully, "I think you've 'ad quite enough of that! You'd better stick to coffee after this!"

"'ave a 'eart, Nan! I flew all the way across the sea and foam to warn you against philanderin' blokes and you deny me me mother's milk?"

"Oh, my sainted Aunt Fanny! You were probably flying on your own fuel! Sir Wilkes, I cannot apologize enough..."

"Nonsense, Nanny," Wilkes patted her hand which was clenched on the tabletop, then left his hand over hers as he leaned forward and whispered, "Actually, I'm rather enjoying myself."

Nanny eyed him suspiciously, then looked at Alfie who was miserably eying the empty glasses in front of himself and the full ones in front of Wilkes. She raised her eyes to Wilkes again and said deliberately and clearly, "I'm not sure I see HOW, for Lord's sake!"

Wilkes smiled and pushed one of the full glasses over to her, then picked up the last one for himself. "To relatives and enjoyment thereof." Ignoring Alfred completely just for the moment, they touched glasses, then sipped, keeping their eyes trained on each other's.

"Relatives and enjoyment, my eye. It's me that suffers by it! I'm a slave to that woman, gov'ner! A SLAVE!" Alfie was beginning to sound maudlin.

Nanny rolled her eyes. "Oh my Lord, Alfred! If you WERE my slave, you wouldn't BE here! You'd have stayed home with... with...." Nanny couldn't remember clearly what had happened with her London relatives as she had left England so many years ago, Alfie's letters had been non-existent and Liza hadn't yet been married and settled enough to begin a correspondence with her. "Alfie, didn't you get married some years back?"

Alfie cleared his throat, then winked broadly at the other two. "Now then, Nan, if you let me 'ave another to whet my whistle a little more, I'll tell you the sad, sad story of me marriage. Left me, she did. Just last week, it was! Left me, sayin' I drank too much. I ask you, 'ow can anyone drink TOO MUCH? I give 'er all she asked for most nights, and more besides, then I disappears and leaves 'er on 'er own to enjoy it! But does she? NO! She blooming tells me I ain't deserving a wife like 'er! Well, I admitted that I was one of the undeserving, that's what I was, but I was wanting to go ON being undeserving if it meant a pint or two with me friends. That's all any bloke wants or needs, isn't that right, gov'ner? The Lord above made liquor for temptation, to see if man could turn away from sin, but with a little bit o' luck, when temptation comes, you'll give right in!" He broke into a raucous song for his last sentence.

Horrified, Nanny jumped up and clapped her hands over Alfie's mouth, hissing, "You're not in your pub at 'ome, Alfred! This is an 'igh-class place!" Then she turned to Wilkes, her face scarlet. "I'm so, so, so sorry, Sir Wilkes... Maybe I should send 'im somewhere else... or 'e could always sleep on our couch, for Lord's sake!"

Wilkes, although somewhat startled by the man, was actually enjoying himself. Alfie was quite unusual... marvellous... fantastic... and there was a certain air about him that reminded Wilkes strongly of Nanny. "Tosh, tosh, tosh, Nanny. I am rather enjoying myself, as I told you before."

"You've a rawther strange idea of enjoyment," Nanny informed him bluntly. She looked down at Alfie who had remained surprisingly quiet in her hands. "Perhaps we should... retire from here?" she asked doubtfully, realizing that that meant getting Alfie up to Wilkes' suite.

"Yes, perhaps we should," agreed Wilkes readily, standing up.

"Might as well, if there's to be no more drinks forthcoming," muttered Alfie through Nanny's fingers.

She cuffed him lightly as she released him. "Be good, Alfred, or I'll toss you out on your ear and let you freeze, freeze, freeze on the streets of New York!"

"You're an 'ard woman, Nan, an 'ard, 'ard, 'ard woman, indeed!" Then he leered up at her. "Will you marry me?"

"And add bigamy to your list o' vices? Not 'ardly, me fine bloke! Not to mention that you're me own cousin to boot! I ask you! You're a regular blackguard, you are, for sure, sure, sure!"

With a bit of wonder, Wilkes realized that Nanny's words and inflections were sliding into a broader Cockney accent than usual. Her cousin's presence had obviously influenced her! He found that an endearing trait. It also made him realize how much she tried to suppress her accent when speaking with him.

"But you love me, don't you?" Alfie tried to get his legs to work so he could stand up, but couldn't seem to manage it. Instead he slumped down in the chair and gazed up at the other two sheepishly. Then his stare sharpened and he frowned at Wilkes. "And by the by, I 'aven't 'eard this bloke's intentions towards you yet!"

Wilkes smothered a chuckle when he could see that Nanny was too outraged to speak, and spoke mildly, "No, I don't believe you have heard them, Alfie." He had no intentions whatever of revealing his feelings to Alfie before he was sure of them himself and had already spoken to Nanny!

"Well, gov'ner?" Alfie was beginning to sound a little belligerent. "I'm willing to 'ear you, I'm wanting to 'ear you, I'm WAITING to 'ear you!"

"'Ere, come along, you!" Nanny dragged Alfie to his feet by one arm. Wilkes caught his other arm before the man toppled over again, and the two steered Alfie out of the Oak Room and over to the elevators.

O o O o O o

"You 'aven't been 'ooked yet, 'ave you, gov'ner?" Alfie mumbled, looking at Wilkes somewhat cross-eyed. "By a woman other than my Nan, I mean to say."

Max pressed one bell-tipped finger to the sixteenth floor button and stared straight ahead. Nanny smiled to see that he still was wearing the gloves Eloise had given him for Christmas. The little girl had despaired of ever getting Max to show any expression at all or to unbend enough even to talk to her, so it had been an enormous surprise to both Nanny and Eloise when he had tried to cheer her up earlier this evening by crouching down and wiggling his fingers as he spoke to the child. The other time Nanny remembered being so very grateful to this man was when Mrs. Daniels had been sharing the elevator with herself and Sir Wilkes, and the woman had ignored her and spoken rapidly to Sir Wilkes. When the elevator had stopped at Mrs. Daniels' floor and she had gotten off, Max had closed the doors instantly, despite the fact that Mrs. Daniels was still trying to talk.

"Hooked?" Wilkes asked Alfie now, looked a little lost.

"Leg-shackled. Cut down in yer prime. MARRIED, man!" Alfie broke into song again, "The gentle sex was made for man to marry! To share 'is nest and see 'is food is cooked. The gentle sex was made for man to marry, but with a little bit o' luck, you can have it all and not get 'ooked!"

"ALFRED DOO–" Nanny began, incensed, jerking on the arm she was holding.

Alfie almost fell over, but Wilkes tightened his grip on the man's other arm, and said very politely, "Er, no, no, I haven't been... er, hooked OR married...." His eyes met Nanny's for an instant across Alfie's bent head, and he added softly, "yet."

Nanny's remarkable blue eyes widened, then colour swept into her face, and she looked away quickly.

"S'good, good, gov'ner," Alfie slurred. "Cause it's a crime for man to go philanderin... an' fill 'is wife's poor 'eart with grief and doubt...." His raucous voice filled the elevator.

"Oh my Lord, 'e's off again..." Nanny said in despair. "ALFRED! BE QUIET!"

"Tha's Alfred P. Doo...!" he tried to correct her, but couldn't complete his sentence.

Nanny almost wailed, "Sir Wilkes... Max... I cannot apologize enough for my cousin's behaviour..."

Max merely turned and winked at her, his face split into a wide grin. Wilkes murmured, "Tosh, tosh, tosh, Nanny. No need for apologies..."

"Oh, but 'e's much too much trouble... much, much, much! The drunken old fool!" She continued to fuss.

"Me? Not me!" Alfie denied instantly, trying to draw himself up. "I can 'old me drink, I can!"

"Perhaps it was the aeroplane flight?" Wilkes suggested soothingly. "Not just the, er, drink."

Alfie breathed out a laugh in Wilkes' face, and Wilkes once more suppressed his shudder of distaste at the smell. "By George, that must be it, gov'ner, that must be it!" He belched again, loudly. "And now we're flying again in this 'ere lift! 's almost as good as kissin'! I put it to you, gov'ner... and I leave it to you. Almost as good as 'aving..."

Nanny shoved her elbow into Alfie's side, and he subsided in a groan. At last they were at the sixteenth floor. Nanny dragged Alfie off hurriedly, her cheeks still mottled with red, Wilkes supporting his other side. Max leaned out to say, "Do you need help?"

"Naoww, thank you, Max," Nanny said breathlessly. "We'll manage 'im. But thank you... and Merry Christmas!"

"Same to you, Nanny. Sir Wilkes. It appears your... cousin... has already HAD his merrymaking!" and with a final tinkle of the bells on his fingers, Max was gone.

As they approached Nanny's suite which she shared with Eloise and Kay, Nanny hesitated. "Sir Wilkes, perhaps Alfie should just stay 'ere with us..."

"Tosh, tosh, tosh, Nanny! I've a spare bed... and you only have your sofa by your own admission. Where's the sense in that?" Then he grinned and quoted Alfie, mimicking the other man's accent quite well. "I put it to you... and I leave it to you!"

Nanny's eyes widened again at his teasing, then they twinkled back at him over Alfie's bent head. They continued down the corridor until they reached Wilkes' suite. Wilkes fumbled for his key, then they steered Alfie in and over to the room Wilkes indicated. Nanny hesitated at the sight of the cream-coloured bedspread, looking doubtfully at Alfie, then at Wilkes.

Wilkes understood her unspoken concern immediately. "It'll be fine, Nanny. Don't worry," he reassured her, urging Alfie forward.

"Gov'ner?" Alfie mumbled.

"Yes?"

"Where's your neCESSary...? I mean, after all I've been through today ... Is that unreasonable? I ask you!"

Wilkes steered him across the room after Alfie shook off Nanny's helping hand with a scowl. When Alfie was finished, he opened the door and sagged against the doorframe, looking almost green. "I don't feel too good."

"You can't afford to feel sick, Alfie, not for the short time you 'ave 'ere, for Lord's sake!" Nanny said comfortingly. "Just you lie down 'ere and get some rest, and you'll be back to normal in the morning, for sure, sure, sure."

"Don't think I could sleep a wink..." he grumbled, but allowed himself to be steered over to the bed where Nanny had already turned down the bedclothes. Before she could say anything, he collapsed onto the bed crosswise and promptly started snoring loudly.

Wilkes stepped back as Nanny deftly tugged off Alfie's shoes and efficiently rolled him the right way and threw the blankets over him. Then her hand lightly touched Alfred's forehead and she whispered, "My stars, stars, stars, Alfie... you came to see me! I'm rawther surprised, I must say..." She stood for a moment looking down tenderly at him and Wilkes watched her silently from the doorway until he felt he should slip out and leave the two cousins alone.

As he poked the embers in the fireplace and added another log or two, Wilkes pondered the improbability of having Nanny's somewhat eccentric cousin staying with him. It seemed as though she was quite used to dealing with Alfie sleeping off his excesses. She obviously loved him a great deal, in spite of being embarrassed by him. Or was she only embarrassed because he, Wilkes, was around? Nanny behaved very differently with everyone else than she did with him. He'd have been very foolish indeed not to have noticed THAT. He very much liked the way she was with him... but he LOVED the way she was with everyone else! That thought rocked him back on his heels in surprise. He truly DID love her, as she really was! Now all he had to do was convince her...

Once the fire was burning brightly, Wilkes loosened his tie and removed his jacket, feeling the heat more than he had expected. He wondered if it was the excitement of having Nanny visiting here in his apartment... and flushed hotter than before. When Nanny finally appeared, hesitating at the door of the spare room, Wilkes smiled shyly at her. "Would you like an eggnog, Nanny? Bill brought up a small punchbowl earlier this evening..."

"Thank you, Sir Wilkes," Nanny smiled. "I'd like that very much. Aoww, and you lit the fire, too."

"Come, sit down," he urged, beckoning to the love seat facing the fire.

Nanny perched primly on the corner of the cushion for a moment, then, when Wilkes turned away to fetch the drinks, she yawned and settled herself more comfortably, leaning against the back. Suddenly she was feeling her age, and was realizing how exhausted she really was after the frantic activity of this afternoon rescuing Eloise and running from the basement of the Plaza up to the mezzanine where the wedding was being held, then eating the big supper William had brought up, then the tension in the lobby when Mr. Peabody was questioning Eloise about her role in his daughter's now-cancelled wedding, not to mention Alfie's unexpected arrival...

Accepting the drink, and sipping on it in as ladylike a fashion as she could, Nanny felt like stretching out in the heat and closing her eyes... Giving herself a stern talking-to, she finally forced herself to wake up and say something. "I notice, Sir Wilkes, that you 'aven't done a lot of decorating." Appalled at the words that came out of her mouth, she hastily buried her face in her cup.

Wilkes smiled. "Actually, I had considered asking if you and Eloise would do my decorating while you were doing your own. I DID enjoy watching the glimpses I happened to catch of you decorating." Then he added, his face lightly flushing, "I liked watching you dance and sing."

Now Nanny's face was scarlet. A spark of awareness flared within her, and spread rapidly outward, even as her mind warned her not to read too much into his kind words or the heat she imagined she saw in his eyes. After all, she had wandered down that path many years ago and gotten nothing but heartache. No fine, upstanding gentleman would want anything respectable from the likes of HER... that is what she had been told then and that is what she perforce had had to believe in the years since. She mumbled something unintelligible.

Hearing more loud belching from the bedroom, then a resumption of loud snoring, both Nanny and Wilkes found it easier to talk about Alfred than about each other. Nanny recounted some stories of her cousin, and her laugh was warm, husky and full of love. Wilkes fought the urge to cover her smiling lips with his, and encouraged her to keep talking. He watched her animated face as she spoke and tried to decide what it was about her that had drawn him from the moment he had first caught sight of her surreptitiously watching him from behind a half-open door. Unlike other women who had blatantly chased after him because of a mere title or the money he obviously had, he had the feeling that Nanny didn't look at him and see money or titles or even looks had he had any! No, she didn't see any of those shallow things. But what DID she see when she looked at him, with those incredibly beautiful blue eyes that shone with adoration until she realized he was watching her intently?

Her words dried up and she stared back at him, her lips still slightly parted, waiting for him to say something.

"It is Christmas Eve, and, well, a time to celebrate love coming into our world ... I had intended to invite you to go with me to a Christmas Eve service somewhere tonight, but it is very late now, and with your cousin here... and all that, well, all that has happened this evening... we probably should not rush into anything rash..." Wilkes murmured, his eyes intent on hers.

The breath backed up in her lungs. Was he meaning, by 'all that has happened', the fact that she had kissed him? "Naoww, I, I suppose not..." Nanny felt as if all her dreams were collapsing around her. He thought anything between them was rash? She wished miserably that she could blame Alfie, but it wasn't HIS fault she had allowed her hopes to rise. Deep inside her, the slow beat of desire was heating up, despite her fierce resistance.

"On the other hand..." Wilkes looked down at his drink as if for courage, back up at her, then put the drink on the table beside the sofa, never taking his eyes off hers. "On the other hand," he repeated, taking her glass from her suddenly nerveless fingers and putting it beside his, not breaking their eye contact, "we are not getting any younger, and I find I want to... enjoy my life immensely for what remains of it. And to begin, I want to kiss you, Nanny."

Without waiting for a response, he leaned forward and touched his lips to her mouth which had fallen open at his last words. At that first contact, Nanny felt the room dip and tilt dangerously, and her hands reached out, clutching blindly at his shirt when her first reaction had been to push him away. Her entire body melted with pleasure. She had thought she was too, too, too old to feel such wonderful things when a man's lips touched hers! After her initial surprise and resistance, her lips softened under his. Her eyelids fluttered then dropped as her pulse rate sped up and her blood began to heat. How long had she dreamed of exactly this? How long had it been since she had begun imagining what it would be like to have Sir Wilkes kiss her, hold her, WANT her? Nanny moaned faintly. She had wanted this FOREVER, it seemed, and his kiss was all that she had dreamed of and more.

When she didn't resist further, Wilkes boldly deepened the kiss. A wave of tingling heat filled her body, leaving her both lightheaded and physically weak... and made her want more. She trembled at the sensations pouring through her. Surprised and delighted at her response, Wilkes' hands moved from her shoulders to her back to pull her closer to his body. He longed to caress her voluptuous curves, but didn't dare yet. Instead, his hands moved up and down her back and around to her sides then back to her spine as he strained closer to her.

Aching with the hope that Wilkes would not pull away soon, Nanny worked her arms out from where they had been trapped between their bodies, and threw them around his neck, and they continued kissing through all the manoeuvres, pressing closer and closer to one another. She revelled in the ticklish feeling of his moustache and the slight roughness of his skin on hers. She rubbed against him, hoping to somehow convey her desires through her actions, knowing she would never, never, NEVER have the courage to say anything aloud. She had hardly been able to say hello to him without stammering and blushing like a fool, for Lord's sake! Now they clung to each other as one passionate kiss deepened into another, lost to all but the need to be joined as one.

A loud belch and groan from the other room somehow registered, and with a startled cry, Nanny pushed back from Wilkes, struggling to regain her wits and panting as she gasped, "Oh... my Lord.. if Alfie... oh, my LORD, Willy! What... are we DOING?"

A faint amused smile crossed Wilkes' face even as his own rapid breaths sounded loud in the now-quiet room. He gazed at her face, noting that her eyes were darker blue with desire, her lips were slightly swollen from his kisses and her skin faintly reddened by whisker-burn. When he felt he could trust his voice to not sound too shaky, he said almost meditatively, "You called me Willy again."

Nanny flushed deeply. "Aoww, I mean Sir Wi..."

His fingers lightly touched her lips, stopping her from speaking further. His thumb slid over her lower lip, then stroked it again. "I like it when you call me Willy."

Nanny's eyes seemed to glaze over, and a low moan forced itself from her throat. His thumb ran one more time over her lip, then his hand curved around her neck and drew her back to him. Dizzy with delicious desire, she raised her lips to his, her eyes closing as his mouth slanted over hers again. A tingling fire danced along her flesh and through her blood, making her skin more sensitive to his touch than she could ever have imagined. She was burning up, and wanted only to strip off her clothes and have him make love to her over and over and over... Her love for him rose up so fiercely inside that it was all she could do not to say the words. She knew, however, that she must not say them. She had to hold them back. She simply could not offer that most precious piece of her heart to him and face the pain of not having her feelings returned. She made a soft, helpless sound as she leaned back against the soft cushions of the sofa and immersed herself in him.

Time became immaterial. Long minutes slid by with the sound of heavy breathing, the feel of mouth on mouth, the smoothing of hand over skin. Pleasure rippled through her, followed by the flame of desire when his hand ran up her thigh as he turned more fully towards her, pressing her into the cushions with his weight. It had been so long since she had felt the heated, urgent touch of longing desire. She was desperate for more, for him to be closer still ... until suddenly her chest felt tight with panic. She broke the kiss and started to push away, just as the constant long, loud buzz from the doorbell interrupted their tryst.

"It's... Eloise...!" Nanny gasped, gulping in huge amounts of air, feeling as if she had just surfaced from a deep dive underwater.

"Nan?" Wilkes was still trying to hold her, his breathing rapid and harsh, his face reflecting the confusion he was feeling.

"I ...I just ... I'm sorry... so, so, so sorry, Sir Wilkes..." She stumbled to her feet, trying to smooth her dishevelled hair, and touching her lips which felt swollen from his kisses.

"Nan, Nanny, please, I beg of you to excuse my behaviour, but..." Wilkes almost fell off the couch in his eagerness to stop her flight, and found himself on his knees in front of her, gripping her hands tightly in his. Such an obvious and time-honoured position for a proposal of marriage had him opening his mouth, but before he could say a word, Eloise had bounced into the room.

"Oh! You were sitting in front of the fire! Where's your cousin, Nanny? Why is your face so red? Probably the heat from the flames, right? Oh, Sir Wilkes, Maman said to tell you that we think it would be absolutely divine if you could come for Christmas supper tomorrow. Can you? You don't have anything else to do, have you? And she said to come early ... We think Nanny's cousin will come in the morning, and if you want, you can just come with him. Nobody should spend Christmas alone, you know. You know, I absolutely LOVE Christmas! Nanny and me both do. Don't you, Sir Wilkes?"

Nanny had tugged her hands out of his grasp the moment Eloise had arrived, and was blushing fiercely. Wilkes scrambled to his feet, blushing vividly himself, and stammered that he would be delighted to spend Christmas Day with them all, and that he would pass the message on to Nanny's cousin in the morning, as Alfred had already retired for the night. Somehow Nanny managed to get out of Wilkes' suite, back to her suite and finally to her own room, avoiding Eloise's sharp glances, Kay's raised eyebrows and knowing looks, and all explanations.

Later, in her bed, Nanny again touched her burning lips. Sir Wilkes had meant to kiss her, of course, even if it had been an impulsive gesture. But remembering how the kiss had been light at first then had deepened into passion made her wonder if desire had overtaken him, just as it had her. She certainly HOPED that he had found her attractive, even desirable, and that he had not simply thought her an easy target for his attentions. Then she scoffed at herself. Honestly! She would have thought that by the time she was well past sixty years of age, she would KNOW she was not the attractive, desirable type, for Lord's sake! Well, she had known that she was long past the possibility of romance, but apparently she was not past the age to feel desire and lust, and nor was Sir Wilkes. She stirred restlessly, her body once more primed for passion even as her mind rejected the possibility. Sir Wilkes simply was NOT for her! Long ago she had loved and been abandoned, and she did not think she could live through that again. No, she simply HAD to erase Sir Wilkes from her mind and more urgently her imagination....

Down the hall, in his own bed, Wilkes, too, was fighting his body's intense arousal. Nanny had been so hot and responsive in his arms, so delightfully kissable... Wilkes groaned aloud in his frustration and dragged himself up out of bed and into the bathroom for another cold shower. Being over sixty and not a randy sixteen year old, he should not be a slave to his emotions like this, but the little interlude in front of the fireplace had proved to him that age really didn't matter when it came right down to it. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as the cold water sluiced over his body, not even touching the hot core bubbling inside at the thought of the exuberant, voluptuous woman who had stolen his heart so stealthily and so completely.

O o O o O o


	2. Chapter 2

Wilkes was awakened from a very short, uneasy sleep by a bellow of annoyance from his bedroom door. Struggling up, he peered blearily at the man bearing down on him. "Wh-What's the matter? What is it?"

"Where is Nan, I'm askin' you, gov'ner? I swear I saw 'er last night! I only 'ad a coupla pints, so I ask you, is this reasonable, gov'ner? Is it fairity to take advantage of a man like that? To fill a man with drink then spirit 'is onliest, dearest cousin away, out from under 'is very nose?"

"I... I assume Nanny is in her own suite, Alf... Alfred," Wilkes almost stuttered. "She, er, went home with Eloise last night..."

"And you didn't 'ave your wicked way with her?" Alfred leered at him.

"Of course not!" Wilkes was indignant, although a bit of colour came into his cheeks remembering the delightful kisses before she had gone, and the cold showers and the erotic dreams that had plagued the rest of his night.

Alfred sank down on the bed and grinned widely at Wilkes. "That's all right, then. As long as she's safe. Not that I don't expect you to love 'er properly, gentleman that you is, AFTER a weddin' ceremony and not afore one! I don't mind tellin' you, gov'ner, I wouldn't want to find my Nan warmin' your bed. Not with ME 'ere, if you know what I mean!" His body spasmed into his breathy laugh and Wilkes drew back as unobtrusively as possible, trying not to show his disgust at the stench of the man's breath wafting over him.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," Wilkes said politely. "Er, Eloise invited us over to her suite for the day, beginning with breakfast," He peered at the clock and saw to his dismay that it was only six a.m. "although I do not really think she meant us to come this early."

"Early? EARLY?" Alfred was flabbergasted. "Don't you dare mention that in me presence again! This ain't early, gov'ner, not where *I* come from, it isn't!"

"Perhaps it isn't, but it IS here in America," Wilkes said with some determination. "I'm sure you won't mind if I ask you to please remove yourself from my room so that I might have a few more hours of sleep."

"Certainly, gov'ner, certainly!" Alfred said heartily, standing up and grinning again. He winked exaggeratedly. "You wouldn't 'appen to 'ave a wee drop of liquor, would you now?"

Before burying himself in his bedclothes once more, Wilkes told Alfred about the last of the eggnog, missing the other man's moue of distaste. It wasn't two minutes after the other man had left his room that Wilkes shot up in his bed again. What had he done with the Christmas present he had intended to give Nanny last night? He fumbled around his room for a moment before finding the gaily-wrapped box on his bureau and sighing in relief that he hadn't misplaced it. He had just managed to find the treasure yesterday afternoon, and fortunately Tiffany's had gift-wrapped it for him.

Looking at the card he had carefully chosen for her, he wondered if he dared write 'Love, Wilkes' on it. Or even 'WITH love, Wilkes'? Grimacing, Wilkes carefully put the gift in his top drawer, the card on top of the bureau and crawled back into bed. He didn't have THAT much nerve, unfortunately!

Suddenly he sat up straight again. He couldn't just give NANNY a Christmas gift! What was he going to give Eloise and Kay and Alfred, now that he was to be spending the day with them? With an audible groan, Wilkes fell back on the bed. How he hated making decisions like this!

O o O o O o

A few hours later, the telephone rang, and it was Eloise excitedly wishing Wilkes a Merry Christmas and asking when he and Nanny's cousin were coming over. Wilkes, who had risen, dressed and even managed to locate and wrap something small for the other three, informed the child that he and Alfred would be along shortly. Eloise announced she had already ordered brunch for everybody, so they didn't have to wait to eat THAT, for Lord's sake! She also grumbled that her mother and Nanny had refused to let her open ANY of her presents before they ate, so Wilkes realized exactly WHY Eloise wished the two men would arrive sooner rather than later.

Accordingly it was not much later when Wilkes and a beaming Alfred entered the suite down the hall. Alfred insisted on kissing the three females to wish them Merry Christmas, and Wilkes eagerly followed his example, kissing Eloise and Kay on the cheek, and capturing Nanny's lips with his in a brief, hard kiss when she would have offered her cheek instead. His touch instantly caused Nanny's face to flame and her heart begin to pound crazily... and her hopes and dreams which she had tried so hard to bury overnight burst forth from behind their barriers and were more vivid than ever. Wilkes had turned away almost immediately and had requested and received permission to place his presents under the tree for the time being. Then Bill was at the door with their Christmas brunch.

"Hallo, William, and Happy Christmas," Nanny greeted the young man almost breathlessly.

Bill grinned cheerfully. "Merry Christmas, Nanny, Eloise, Miz Thompson..." Then, seeing Sir Wilkes by the tree, he raised his eyebrows only slightly before adding, "Sir Wilkes..."

"This is Nanny's cousin from ENGLAND, Bill!" Eloise cried, tugging Alfred forward.

"Sir..." Bill said. "Merry Christmas to you, too!"

"Aoww, not bloody likely I'm a SIR," Alfred grimaced. "Before that old bloke made me a gentleman, I was one of the undeserving poor, and 'appy about it! Naow, bein' a gentleman makes a man feel all prudent-like, and the moment that 'appens, your 'appiness is right out the window! I came to see that my Nan wasn't bein' taken advantage of by the gov'ner 'ere," and he indicated Sir Wilkes.

Bill's eyebrows ascended a little further, then he smiled, "I doubt that's a problem. Sir Wilkes is a fine, upstanding gentleman! And Eloise is a good little chaperone, I'm sure."

"It's this middle-class morality I've 'ad to adopt, you know," confided Alfred. "I 'ave to promote what's best for others now, not for myself. Middle-class morality. I ask you! And Nan 'as been 'urt by fine, upstanding gentlemen before, and I won't see it 'appen again!"

"Thank you, Alfie and William, but if you've finished discussing me and my affairs, for Lord's sake, I'll thank you to allow us to eat our food now, now, now!" Nanny frowned at them both, hoping no one would notice the colour still blazing in her cheeks.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Bill said as he prepared to leave. "I'm off for a few days now... I really AM going to take the vacation I was supposed to get a few days ago!"

"Are you spending your holidays with Rachel? And her father, Mr. Peabody?" Eloise asked.

"I am... and it's all thanks to you!" Bill hugged her quickly.

"But I didn't make you come back," Eloise said, puzzled. "You did that yourself."

"All because you persisted in throwing us together and reminding me how it used to be... and I couldn't give her up again after losing her once! I knew it would hurt too much if I didn't at least TRY to win her love."

"And you found you had had it all along," Eloise said smugly.

"I guess I did," Bill admitted. "Well, Merry Christmas again!" and he was gone.

Over brunch, Alfred kept them all entertained with his colourful phrases and strong viewpoints about every topic under the sun. Nanny tried to suppress him to no avail. Finally she subsided in despair, and Eloise patted her hand comfortingly and whispered, "It's all right, Nanny. He'll be going back to England soon and we'll have Sir Wilkes to ourselves again." THAT comment didn't merit an answer, so Nanny said nothing in reply.

After they had eaten, everyone moved over to gather around the Christmas tree. Wilkes managed to wangle the seat beside Nanny on the sofa which she had thought would be occupied either by Eloise or even Alfred, but Eloise insisted on playing Santa's elf and delivering the presents to everyone else in between opening her own. Alfred had ensconced himself in one of the chairs and was pontificating to Kay who was seated in another.

When he had duly admired the present Eloise had received from the young prince of Kuchin and heard the story of how handy the walkie talkies had been the previous afternoon, Wilkes was handed a small box with a card reading, _Merry Christmas to a dear friend! _on the outside. Nanny had written inside_, Hope your Christmas and your year is happy, Sir Wilkes... from Nanny_. Nanny was studiously looking away when he glanced at her, so he carefully opened his gift to reveal a set of gold cufflinks in the shape of roses and a tie clip with a Christmas rose motif engraved on it. A tiny diamond was set in the heart of each full-blown rose, and the petals were detailed with a pearlized cream-coloured surface. He couldn't help but smile, knowing that he and Nanny had obviously thought alike in the manner of Christmas presents for each other!

"They are lovely, Nanny, truly lovely, and I thank you very, very much," he said, turning to her.

"Aoww, they're just ..." she began deprecatingly. Before she could finish, however, Eloise bounced over with another gift for Nanny.

Wilkes' smile broadened. It was his gift to Nanny, and now she would see the coincidence herself in the gifts. She silently read the card first. On the outside was written:_ Friends fill your life with joy, your soul with sunshine and your heart with love. _Inside, Wilkes had written, _May your days always be merry, Nanny...Yours truly, Wilkes_. Her eyes lifted to his. He found himself biting back the words '_and I wish to be truly yours, Nanny, if you'll have me_'. It was too soon, much too soon... not to mention too public for such a conversation.

"Whadja get from Sir Wilkes, Nanny? Something absolutely divine, I bet! LOOK, it's from TIFFANY'S!" Eloise hung over Nanny's lap staring at the box until Nanny turned back to the present and opened it.

"Aoww, Sir WILKES!" Nanny whispered when she beheld the breathtaking brooch. "Aoww, my, my, MY, it IS absolutely divine! It's a Christmas rose!" It was a circlet of diamonds surrounding a full-blown rose fashioned with opals for the petals and emeralds for the leaves. "Aoww, 'ow can I ever thank you enough?" Before she could lose her nerve, Nanny leaned over and kissed him quickly.

Eloise scrunched up her face at the kiss as usual, then cried excitedly, "I just realized, Nanny... Sir Wilkes gave you a flower ... a ROSE! That's how you said wooing should start, by giving flowers, and preferably roses! Sir Wilkes, are you WOOING Nanny? And... and Nanny gave YOU roses, too!" Eloise's sharp eyes suddenly noticed the cufflinks and tie clip. "You are both wooing each other!"

"Oh, my Lord, Eloise, what, what, WHAT are you saying?" Nanny was horrified. "Aoww, Sir Wilkes, I cannot apologize enough...."

Kay leaned over to look at both the gifts, and smiled at the couple. "You both gave Christmas roses to each other? You DO realize that according to the legend, that is a true gift of love, don't you?"

"Love?" Alfred frowned at Wilkes, then Nanny. "'ere now, Nan, why'd you interduce 'im as SIR Wilkes if you're giving 'im a gift of LOVE? I was RIGHT to come over to America to check on you! Is that unreasonable? I put it to you... and I leave it to you!"

"Aoww, Alfie..." Nanny jumped up and gathered up her presents, hiding her scarlet face as she turned and made her way into her bedroom where she took off the brooch at her throat and carefully put the lovely, delicate one Wilkes had given her in its place.

"Nanny? I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," Eloise said contritely, hovering at the door of Nanny's room.

"Aoww, pet, it's Christmas. No need to be sorry for saying what you think!" Nanny held out her arms and Eloise ran into them, hugging her tightly.

"Nanny?" whispered Eloise, cuddled close to Nanny.

"Yes, love?" Nanny asked tenderly.

"If you married Sir Wilkes, would you still be my mostly companion?"

"If I ...?" Nanny's voice failed her at the thought of marriage to the man she admired so much, but who was in a class far above her own. She struggled to subdue her memories of the delightful kisses they had shared the evening before, quite certain they would not be happening again. "Now, Eloise, 'ow many times do I have to tell you that Sir Wilkes and I are FRIENDS? Nothing more. Not even that, really, for Lord's sake! There has been no talk of marriage or love, none at all! I really don't think you need worry about what ifs, pet."

"But he's wooing you! He gave you a Christmas rose for love. One you can keep forever and ever and ever. That's a Christmas miracle! And it's beautiful... and from TIFFANY'S!"

"Eloise," Nanny put an end to any discussion of wooing, finality obvious in her voice. "It's rude, rude, rude to leave our guests, Mr. Doolittle and Sir Wilkes, alone, not to mention your MOTHER who managed to get 'ere after all last night... and that was rawther a Christmas miracle, for sure, sure, sure. So, let's move, move, move..."

Eloise ran ahead of Nanny back out into the living room. "Sir Wilkes? Nanny just put your gift on her blouse! Are you going to put what she gave you on?"

"Why, I can't think of anything I'd rather do!" Wilkes beamed, and switched the cufflinks he had on for the ones Nanny had given him. Nanny smiled shyly at him, then went over to sit on the arm of the chair Alfred was occupying.

"So, now that we've opened the presents, are we going for a walk in the snow?" Eloise asked expectantly, looking around at the adults. "In the park? For a little while? The sun is shining!"

"I think we should," Kay laughed. "We've just eaten a large meal, and there's another large meal to come in only a few hours!"

"I don't suppose we could 'ave a drop of liquid protection against the cold, could we?" Alfred asked piteously.

"There's still some tea in the teapot, Mr. Doolittle," Eloise said, helpfully, running over to check and missing Alfred's grimace. "But it's cold."

"Aoww, my sainted Aunt Fannie, Alfie!" Nanny said in disgust. "It's not very cold out, for Lord's sake! The exercise will do you more good than any 'ot tea or any OTHER liquid protection! Not to mention the walking will warm you up and get your blood flowing!"

"We'll walk as Eloise has suggested and the lovely Miz Thompson has decreed!" Wilkes nodded his concurrence.

Kay bowed her acknowledgement of his compliment. "Well, shall we go?"

O o O o O o

At their Christmas meal that night, when Mrs. Thornton and her poodle Mona had joined them, Nanny found herself eying Alfred narrowly. His nose was glowing and his mood boisterous, and somehow she did not think it was from the exercise outside. More than likely, she thought sourly, it was exercise from bending his elbow a little too often!

"I'm retired, I am," Alfred said to Mrs. Thornton who had distantly wondered what occupation he followed. Then he grinned, and sang loudly, "The Lord above gave man an arm of iron so 'e could do 'is job and never shirk! But with a little bit o' luck, someone else will do the blinkin' work!"

Seeing Nanny's distress, Wilkes interrupted the raucous solo. "What did you do BEFORE retiring, Alfred? You must have done some sort of work."

Exasperated, Nanny shook her head when Alfred replied cheerfully, without a sign of remorse, "Don't take a man up like that, gov'ner! It's the Welsh strain from me dear mother which makes me sing. And work? Don't you dare mention that word in me presence again! Think of all those poor blighters 'oo work day and night, day and night, and for what? I ask you!"

"Well, if you don't work, what do you do to make your days interesting?" asked Mrs. Thornton, strangely fascinated by Nanny's cousin.

"I'll tell you then," Alfred winked at Nanny and she closed her eyes for a moment in a silent prayer that he not say anything too outrageous. "A few days ago, me mates and me went to a different part of town and went into a shop."

"A shop?" Nanny asked, somewhat sarcastically.

Unfazed, Alfred grinned. "All right, all right, Nan, it was a pub! We were only in there for about five minutes, for Lord's sake. Don't look so bloody disbelievin', Nan! So, where was I? Oh, right ... five minutes. When we came out, there was a bobby by the car writing a bloody ticket. We went up to 'im and asked 'im to give a senior citizen a break. No skin off 'is nose, see? The blighter ignored us and continued writing the ticket. I ask you! So I called 'im a rude name, I did. 'e glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires. So one o' me mates called 'im a blackguard. 'e finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then 'e started writing a third ticket! Is this reasonable, gov'ner? I ask you!" he appealed to Wilkes.

"I must say that I can't really blame the poor man," Wilkes commented.

"Be 'uman, gov'ner! Well, this went on for about twenty minutes. The more me and me mates abused 'im, the more tickets 'e wrote."

"That's dreadful!" Mrs. Thornton was leaning forward, listening avidly. "Why would he bother gentlemen such as yourselves with so many tickets? How would you ever pay for them?"

"Aoww, personally, we didn't care," He laughed his raspy laugh, exhaling alcoholic fumes which caused Kay to pale a little and even Mrs. Thornton to sit up straight again. "We'd walked. Don't own no car. We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age."

"It is indeed," Mrs. Thornton agreed, not seeing the surprised looks the others all shot at her.

Alfred winked at her. "I've took sort of a fancy to you, I 'ave!"

Mrs. Thornton's face turned a mottled red. Nanny patted her hand and said comfortingly, "Don't you worry, Mrs. Thornton, Alfie's married. 'e just talks big-like." She frowned at Alfred. Then she realized that Mrs. Thornton was not annoyed by any means. In fact, she was SIMPERING at Alfred, and paying no attention at all to Nanny.

"So, Alfie," Mrs. Thornton leaned towards him confidentially, "would you care to come with me to the opera tomorrow? I happen to have an extra ticket..."

Eloise turned a puzzled gaze on the woman. "But I thought you didn't have enough mo..."

Nanny jumped in quickly, "Aoww, Eloise, please... and Alfie, I know 'ow much you love the opera, but when you're not 'ere for very long..."

Alfred waved her off, smiling beatifically at Mrs. Thornton. "I'd be DEE-lighted to escort you to the opera, my dear!" Then he put his hand over his mouth and said hoarsely in an undertone to Wilkes, "Just so you're not the ONLY one to suffer in silence, gov'ner. Not when it comes to the ladies, IF you know what I mean..." and he winked.

Outraged, Nanny would have said more, but Wilkes quickly put his hand on her thigh and squeezed warningly. Nanny choked back her words, her eyes wide as she glanced startled at the man beside her. He slid his hand down to her knee, then back up a bit, a caressing movement he repeated over and over again. Nanny swallowed hard, and instinctively clamped her knees together... which trapped his hand between her legs. With an audible gasp which she covered by coughing into her napkin, Nanny opened her legs again and Wilkes, a faint smile on his face, continued his gentle stroking. His touch was sending currents of heat through her entire body, tingling in her breasts, her fingers, her toes, and pooling in her lower abdomen.

Nanny lost all track of the conversation after that. She vaguely knew that Eloise was telling the story again of how she had discovered that Bill and Rachel had been in love 'always and forever' and how that Brooks had been so awful. Kay said something about soulmates, and, when asked to explain her words to the child, she said, "Love is a gift of one's innermost soul to another so both can be whole."

Wilkes stopped his stroking and turned his attention to Kay at that point, the warmth of his hand on Nanny's leg still burning through her skirt to her skin and beyond, making her feel as if she were sitting in a pool of very warm water. She struggled to pay attention when Kay repeated her words, but it was Wilkes softly repeating them yet again, nodding his agreement, that seared the words into Nanny's brain. _Love is a gift of one's innermost soul to another so both can be whole._

"Time to sing Christmas carols, then we can have our Christmas pudding!" Eloise announced, jumping up. "Nanny'll play, right, Nanny?"

"I will, unless someone else wants to," Nanny agreed.

Eloise clapped her hands. "And we'll sing absolutely ALL of our favourites, won't we? Oh, I absolutely LOVE Christmas!"

O o O o O o

Much later that evening, Alfred and Wilkes went in with Kay to say goodnight to Eloise who had reluctantly agreed to go to bed if everyone was leaving anyway. Mrs. Thornton, who had already said her goodbyes and was at the door with Nanny, confided to Nanny that after this evening "I now understand Sir Wilkes' fascination with you, Nanny. I never did before. Not that I mean anything by that, but you must understand... such a completely different class! Still, after meeting your cousin tonight... I am impressed that I actually KNOW the cousin to such an important man as Alfred P. Dooli...."

"Alfie?" Nanny said incredulously, passing over the first part of Mrs. Thornton's comments and latching on to the final bit. "Important?"

"Oh, my yes! You know, I didn't realize who he was at first, since you just introduced him as your cousin Alfred, and call him Alfie, but I actually attended some of his lectures with my husband years ago. It didn't take long before I recognized some of his speech patterns and his original viewpoint. We were fascinated by him, and actually travelled to see him in a couple of different locations. Well, Merry Christmas, Nanny... and no doubt I'll see you tomorrow, now that Alfred is going with me to the Opera." With a beaming smile wreathing her face, Mrs. Thornton sailed out of the suite, Mona tucked securely under her arm.

Feeling rawther staggered by Mrs. Thornton's revelations, ALL of them, Nanny closed the door and turned to find Wilkes approaching her. To her annoyance, she blushed immediately, perplexed by Mrs. Thornton's observations, Sir Wilkes' actions at the dinner table and her own confusing emotions.

"Nanny, I, er, overheard Mrs. Thornton... I do hope you are not upset by her recognition of my fascination with you..."

Nanny couldn't look at him. He said that almost as if it were true! "Naow, I... naow, she was mistaken."

He took her hand and leaned forward earnestly, making her look at him in the eye. "You must know, Nanny, that she was NOT mistaken about my fascination with you, but she is completely wrong about you being from a different class than me!"

"Aoww, but Sir Wilkes...."

"Last night you called me Willy..." he said softly, and drew her closer still. "Merry Christmas, Nanny..." and his lips covered hers.

At first gentle and probing, the kiss quickly intensified until it became one of the most powerful kisses she had ever experienced. She felt again the flare of blazing need from a physical attraction that still shook her to the very core of her being. Her hands clenched for a moment, then spread over his back and she pressed closer still, responding wholeheartedly.

A loud belch sent them stumbling apart to see Alfred grinning at them. "Sorry, gov'ner, but I can't let you ruin Nan's reputation now, can I? I ask you! Unless, of course, you plan to make an honest woman of her...?"

"Aoww, my LORD, Alfred!" Nanny frowned at him, putting her hands up to cover her cheeks she knew were bright red with embarrassment... and doubtless whisker burn as well, if last night was anything to go by!

Kay emerged from Eloise's room at that point, and said, "Good night, Sir Wilkes. Good night, Alfred. And Merry Christmas to both of you!"

The men eyed each other a little belligerently, then seemed to reach a tacit agreement. "Night, Miz Thompson. Night, Nanny... Merry Christmas!" and they were gone.

Still half in a daze, Nanny turned for her bedroom, whispering, "Good night, Kay, love. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Nanny, and sweet dreams," Kay said gently, her eyes full of understanding as she watched the woman, who had been like a mother to her for years, walk away as if she were floating on clouds. After watching the older woman last night and all day today, Kay had realized that Nanny and Sir Wilkes were desperately in love with each other, just as Eloise had confided to her earlier.

Kay chewed her lip after Nanny's door closed, trying to decide what to do. She had come home from Paris bubbling with the opportunities that had just been opened up to her in France, but only if she could make her home there permanently. She had hoped, in the next few days, to discuss the possibilities with Nanny and Eloise about moving to France, but after seeing Nanny and Sir Wilkes associating with each other, she no longer was firmly convinced that Nanny would up and move to Europe with them with no questions asked. Could she, Kay, bear to be parted from Nanny? Nanny had been part of Kay's life since Kay had been three years old. And how would this affect Eloise, who had never been apart from Nanny in her life except for a few days now and then? And would Nanny fit into a completely different life, no longer in charge of a lively child but rather as the wife of a peer? It was all rather a lot to think about!

"I always knew love brought more muddled confusion than joy," she muttered under her breath, throwing up her hands and heading for her own room, resolved to worry about the problem tomorrow.

O o O o O o

The next day, everyone was feeling rawther sober and let down, as Eloise put it, bouncing in to Nanny's room to awaken her instead of yelling as she normally did.

Nanny yawned and reluctantly got up, saying huskily, "You don't look too sober or let down, Eloise, not to my way of thinking!"

"That's because I'm only SIX. I'm not supposed to have any worries. That's why I have Maman and YOU," Eloise beamed up at her, her skinny arms wrapped around Nanny's hips. "I love you, Nanny!"

"I love you, too, pet," Nanny smiled, hugging the child back, "but it's late, late, late, and if we're to get some visiting done with your mother and my cousin, you've got to be CLEAN! We had better move, move, move!"

Marching into the bathroom singing their usual morning song, Nanny found it easier than she had expected to put her wishful fancies out of her mind. Emerging into the living room, dressed and more than ready for the hot coffee that Eloise was already ordering through room service, along with breakfast for herself, Kay, Weenie and Skipperdee, Nanny was almost herself again... until she spotted Sir Wilkes' jacket lying on the chair. He had obviously forgotten it in the heat of the moment last night.

Her heart seemed to leap and commence thumping rapidly in her body, and, seeing that Eloise was busy on the phone and Kay had not yet put in an appearance, Nanny picked up the jacket, smoothed it down, then brought it to her face for a quick sniff of the aftershave that Sir Wilkes favoured. Her hands clenched in the material for a moment, and she closed her eyes briefly to savour the remembrance of the wonderful moments in his arms, his lips on hers, the faint wafting scent of his cologne making it almost real again...

"Nanny? Why are you looking so funny? Why are you holding Sir Wilkes' jacket?"

Nanny jumped, dropping the jacket as if it were a hot coal. Then she frowned as she bent over to pick it up, and scolded Eloise gently. "'ow many times must I tell you not to be rude, rude, rude?"

"I'm sorry, Nanny. I don't mean you looked funny and I wanted to laugh. I meant that you looked... I've never seen you look like that. What were you thinking about?" Eloise looked at her curiously.

Kay appeared at that moment, much to Nanny's relief. "Good morning, Eloise! Good morning, Nanny! Oh dear! One of the men forgot his jacket? Well, no matter, I'm sure they'll be over to claim it this morning."

"What are we going to do today, Maman? Something absolutely divine?" Eloise asked excitedly.

Letting Kay and Eloise talk without interruption, Nanny carefully placed the jacket over the back of the chair closest to the door, her hand smoothing over it one last time as if she could feel the ripple of the muscles under it when Sir Wilkes wore it. Then, taking a deep breath and resolving to stop all the nonsensical and fruitless dreaming, she rejoined Kay and Eloise in both body and spirit.

O o O o O o

Wilkes and Alfred knocked on the door of the suite shortly after the ladies had finished breakfast. Eloise danced over and opened the door. "Hallo, Sir Wilkes! Hallo, Mr. Doolittle! Have you come to have breakfast? We've absolutely eaten every last crumb, I think!"

"Actually, Eloise, I seem to have misplaced my ja... ah! There it is. I have some business I must take care of this afternoon, and I was going to take Nanny's cousin shopping with me this morning as he is in need of a few things," Wilkes said.

Alfred grinned at Nanny and said, "I didn't bring me monkey suit, and the gov'ner 'ere seems to think I need one for tonight. I tried to get into 'IS, but we're a bit of a different shape. I ask you, me fit into one of 'is suits? Not bloody likely!"

"Watch your language around children, for Lord's sake, Alfie!" Nanny said sharply, but she smiled. "Naow, I can't imagine that you could wear Sir Wilkes' suit."

"I'll be back to visit you this afternoon for a bit, Nan!" Alfred promised, kissing her on the cheek.

Wilkes wondered if he dared kiss Nanny, too, but she turned away at that point to speak to Kay, so he merely touched his hat and bowed to Eloise.

"Ta ta, Sir Wilkes!" Eloise cried.

"Ta ta, Eloise," he replied, and, meeting Kay's sympathetic gaze, turned abruptly away. Was he so obvious that even Eloise's MOTHER had seen his pathetic yearning for Nanny? Had NANNY seen it?

The men disappeared down the hallway, leaving the women on their own until the afternoon, when Alfred returned, beaming, to report that he had rented a tuxedo for the next few days, just in case he needed it for more events than the opera he and Mrs. Thornton were attending that very evening.

"And Nan, do I 'ave to ask 'er out for a meal before this opry thingy?" he whispered loudly.

"It would be NICE, since she's got the tickets for the opera, for sure, sure, sure!" Nanny said remorselessly.

Alfred sighed gloomily. Then he perked up. "Well, I 'ave a few hours before I 'ave to go ... A few more hours... that's all the time I've got..."

"Next thing you know, you'll be singing," Nanny shook her head indulgently. "'ave a seat, Alfie. Let's talk about old times..."

As Eloise was busy with her afternoon rounds, and Kay had gone to meet someone, Nanny and Alfred had the suite to themselves, and they had a wonderful time sharing their memories and their stories of their lives from the time Nanny had left England until now. All too soon, it seemed, Alfred had to leave to get ready for his 'rendezvous' with Mrs. Thornton.

Over supper, an excited Eloise told Nanny that she and her mother were going with Mr. Peabody and Rachel to visit Bill and plan the wedding that was to be held in a week's time. "Are you coming, Nanny?"

"Naow, I don't think so, love. I'm rawther tired tonight," Nanny smiled. "But you put your planning and catering skills to the test, pet, and you'll be fine, fine, fine!"

Just as she was dancing out the door with Kay, Eloise suddenly cried, "Oh, Nanny, I forgot! Christmas and long-lost cousins and mothers are rather a lot to think about when you're six, you know! I found Sir Wilkes' cufflinks on the sofa this morning! Not the ones you gave him, but the other ones. You'd better take them back to him tonight!"

"Aoww, I'm sure they'll keep, love," Nanny said, shaking her head.

"But Nanny, they're solid DIAMONDS! If we lost them, what would he think? He might think we STOLE them! You absolutely HAVE to take them back to him tonight!"

"Oh, very well," Nanny capitulated, and Eloise ran to her room to get the cufflinks she had put in her bureau drawer.

"Bye, Nanny! Have fun with Sir Wilkes!" Eloise yelled over her shoulder as she ran for the elevator where her mother and Max were waiting.

Nanny stood looking at the cufflinks in her hand, and bit her lip. Dare she go over to his suite now? Alfie would have gone a couple of hours ago... Then she sighed. "Honestly, Nanny, you're acting as if you don't WANT to go see him...." A shiver of excitement ran over her. Would he kiss her again? Oh my Lord, the thought! Should she go, really?

She thought back to Eloise's words of a few minutes ago about having a lot to think about for being only six, and Nanny's lips twisted wryly. With her cousin suddenly coming to America and staying with Sir Wilkes and Nanny worrying about Alfie's behaviour and what he would say to Sir Wilkes, and now how Alfie was acting with Mrs. Thornton... and with Kay obviously having something on her mind which she couldn't hide from Nanny who had known her practically forever... and with Sir Wilkes suddenly appearing to be wanting to move their relationship into the more physical stage which was confusing Nanny for all she was 68 and should have known better, NANNY could easily say, "That's rawther a lot to think about when you're 68!"

Hurrying to her bedroom, Nanny inspected herself in her mirror, fastened the brooch Sir Wilkes had given her to the collar of her blouse at her throat and tucked in a few strands of hair that had come loose from her bun. Then she picked up the cufflinks again, and walked resolutely down the hall. Knocking on the door, she said, "Hallo, Sir Wilkes," when he opened it.

"Nanny!" He looked surprised and somewhat disconcerted to see her. "I, er, wasn't expecting anyone... I would have dressed properly..."

Unable to stop herself, Nanny's eyes drifted over his white shirt, unbuttoned halfway down the front, his sleeves rolled up, his trousers... With a faint gasp, she pulled her gaze back to his, her face reddening at the rawther obvious signs of tenting she had glimpsed. "I.... I just came... to... to return... your cufflinks!" she stammered, thrusting her hand at him, inwardly cringing at how servile she sounded.

He stepped back, ignoring her extended palm, and waved his arm in the direction of his living room. "Please, come in, Nanny. Won't you have a drink with me? It IS Boxing Day, after all."

"Well, I... I don't mind if I do. But please, take your cufflinks back. Eloise was MOST concerned that you might think we had stolen them!"

Wilkes smiled broadly, and accepted the jewellery from her hand. "I never missed them," he admitted, holding her hand firmly in his. "I got a most beautiful pair for Christmas, you know. And I see you're wearing your matching brooch..."

"Oh, my stars, stars, stars! As if what I bought is anything as beautiful as what you have given me!" Nanny tugged her hand away and touched the brooch lovingly.

In moments, the two were ensconced on the loveseat in front of the fire, sipping on their wine. They talked and visited amicably for the next few hours, and Nanny found herself relaxing and enjoying herself immensely. If neither had anything to say, they both stared into the fire, feeling comfortable in their silence.

Then Wilkes broke the last silence by saying, "I saw you Christmas Eve, you know, at Rachel Peabody's wedding. I didn't have a chance to tell you before. I heard Eloise giggle and when I looked up, I saw you both peeking out of the hole to the ventilation system. She told me the story of your gallant rescue while we were on our walk yesterday... her being locked in the cupboard and you saving her. She's very lucky indeed to have you as her mostly companion... Nanny, the last few days, I've been thinking about you... and Eloise... and, well, it seems that words are inadequate in most cases, but..."

Nanny flushed, feeling uncomfortable at the praise, especially recalling how she had grumbled about needing a raise after all that running and climbing... If her wildest dreams ever came true, and she could be who and what she wanted to be with Sir Wilkes, she would no longer be able to be Eloise's companion, just as the little girl had worried about yesterday, for Lord's sake! "Oh, my Lord, Sir Wilkes, you are using too many words, words, words, tonight, it seems! Honestly, tell me no dreams filled with desire! If you're on fire, SHOW me, for Lord's sake!" Then she gasped, horror-stricken at her forwardness. "Oh, Sir Wilkes, I cannot apologize enough...!"

"Tosh, tosh, tosh..." He dismissed her apologetic words with a wave of his hand and a smile and, taking her wine glass and setting it down with his on the table beside him, he turned back to her. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do than show you how I am feeling right now." He leaned closer, breathing in her scent, and reaching up to cup her face. He wasn't thinking, only feeling. He kissed her lips slowly, savouring, tasting and just enjoying her. Her mouth opened readily with an eagerness that surprised and elated him. The kiss went on and on, and the only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire and the gentle sighs and groans from the two on the love seat as they were consumed by a need that had been too long denied in both of them.

"This is getting to be a habit..." he whispered. "A delightful habit..."

"Mmmm," she agreed, her fingers combing through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"I love kissing you, Nanny! Why haven't we done more of this?"

"Eloise..." was Nanny's succinct answer as she nipped his lower lip lightly then soothed it with her tongue.

"Nanny, I do believe Bill and Rachel started something... or Christmas miracles happen every day!" Wilkes nuzzled her neck, his hands caressed the length of her spine again.

Nanny trembled in anticipation, helplessly arching into his touch. "Willy, oh, Willy," she moaned against his lips. "Yes, yes, yessss...."

Their need was fast escalating out of control. Arousal dragged Nanny down into hot wanting, her hips were moving without volition as her hands gripped his back while they kissed passionately. She was gasping and straining against him, biting her lips to prevent her cries of delight and her avowals of love from escaping. Neither of them dared say a word about love to the other. Only very briefly did Nanny feel deprived of the greatest gift of all: knowing with absolute certainty that her love was returned, that it was not just lust he was feeling. Wilkes fiercely wished he was a different man who could make love to her without regard for the consequences yet knowing that he wanted more than just the present ecstasy with her. He longed with all his heart for a glorious future of wedded bliss with her as well.

Then suddenly Alfred's voice raised in song could be heard from the hallway. By the time Alfred had fumbled with the door and had finally gotten it open, Nanny and Wilkes were sitting primly on the edges of the loveseat, looking as if they had been carved out of granite, albeit both very short of breath, with red faces and somewhat dishevelled hair and clothing.

"We stopped for a pint or two on the way 'ome, and Eleanor told me about 'er son. Tragic loss, that, but nice for 'er that the government came through just in time for Christmas, so's she didn't 'ave to leave 'er 'ome 'ere at the Plaza!" Alfred belched loudly and scratched his stomach.

"Er yes, it was rather opportune," agreed Wilkes, somewhat uncomfortably, more red creeping up his cheeks. He had written a rather substantial cheque for Mrs. Thornton's room and board on Christmas Eve, giving it to Mr. Peabody with the explicit directions to keep the transaction a secret from everyone. It had been Bill, giddy with happiness at finding out that Rachel returned his love and that her father gave his blessing for their marriage, who had come up with the idea of dressing up as the Prince to salve the older woman's pride.

Nanny eyed Wilkes in surprise, then she cried, "YOU did it, Willy! YOU paid for 'er to stay on! Oh, you ARE a dear, dear, dear man, for sure, sure, sure!" She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him thoroughly again.

The face Alfred pulled rivalled any Eloise could manage. "'ere, now, Nan, 'nough of that, old girl! Not with me being right 'ere and all. Seems you've managed to get 'er to open a bit, there, Willy, me boy! But I don't want to 'ear nor see no hanky-panky doin's!" He covered his face with his hands and stumbled blindly towards his bedroom. "Good night, Nan. Good night, Willy."

"Perhaps I should go now," Nanny said quietly after a long moment while they both sat silently, trying to regain their composure. Alfred's words and presence had effectively put a damper on her passion.

"Yes, perhaps you should." Wilkes sighed, and walked her to the door, not daring to touch her.

That night, Wilkes had a long, cold shower, and tried to subdue his desire for Nanny. He had been walking around the last few days in a state of semi-arousal, simply aching for Nanny, but tonight his arousal was raging. He hadn't felt like this since his teenage years ... hadn't thought there was anything left of him to feel such strong desire. He wanted to ask her to marry him, but did not want to do it while her cousin was staying in New York. And it wasn't just to alleviate his arousal that he wanted to marry Nanny. More than anything, Wilkes longed for a life companion, a soul mate as Kay had termed it ...in short, he wanted Nanny intimately entwined in his life for whatever time they had left on this earth.

O o O o O o


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Alfred announced that he simply HAD to get back to England. With a roguish wink, he said to Wilkes, "You must know 'ow it is, gov'ner. I was just re-thinking last night with Eleanor and all. I ask you! When the ladies start to get ideas in their 'eads that you never put there and don't WANT to 'ave there, and won't allow to GROW from there, SOMETHING 'as to be done!"

Wilkes once more awakened from a restless, not very refreshing sleep, rubbed his eyes and tried to follow Alfred's train of thought. "I... er..."

"I 'aven't told Nan yet, o' course," Alfred continued. "Me only 'aving seen her briefly last night, and not making the decision until the wee hours of the morning... 'earing you in the bloody shower... makes a bloke wonder, gov'ner. I ask you! Showers in the middle of the night? I'm thinking they were cold showers, and I'm wondering what they 'ave to do with my favourite cousin... and just what your attentions are in that matter..."

Struggling to sit up, Wilkes firmed his lips. "Whatever my intentions are with regard to your cousin, Alfred, are between Nanny and myself. I assure you they are honourable."

"Thank you for that, anyway, gov'ner," Alfred said. Leaning forward, he said in a hoarse whisper although the two were alone in the suite, "She was badly 'urt by another fancy bloke long ago, and I won't allow it to 'appen again to 'er. She don't deserve it. I ask you, a sweet woman like my Nan being told she wasn't worthy of 'im? She don't deserve it, I tell you! Is that unreasonable? I put it to you, gov'ner, and I leave it to you!"

Despite knowing he shouldn't, Wilkes couldn't help but murmur, "Badly hurt?"

"'e built 'er up and led her on until she gave in to 'im and gave 'im what 'e wanted," Alfred said confidentially. "Naturally then 'e told 'er she was beneath him, and not to expect a bloody thing, especially marriage. Broke 'er 'eart, 'e did, and no mistake, but not 'er spirit! It was close, though. I never 'eard of Nan even LOOKING at another man since. Made me 'appy to see you kissing 'er on Christmas and 'er not shoving you away!"

"Oh yes... quite. Quite."

"You'll do right by 'er, won't you, gov'ner?"

Wilkes got out of bed, feeling at a great disadvantage, and repeated, "Whatever happens between Nanny and myself is private and personal, Alfred. However, I do assure you that I will do my utmost to not hurt her."

"That's all I ask, gov'ner, all I ask. And by the by, we've been invited over to the other suite for a bite o' breakfast in twenty minutes. I said as 'ow I was sure we could make it, me being ready and you 'aving already 'ad your shower in the middle of the night." Alfred winked again at Wilkes who stifled his groan and went to dress.

O o O o O o

Nanny stared at Alfred in disbelief when he announced he had booked his return ticket for that evening. "You're leaving tonight?" she asked incredulously.

"I am, Nan, my love. I'm 'omesick, you might say. Liza, 'enry and the kids'll be back tomorrow. And now that I've seen for meself that you are fine, it's time to go."

"I'm so glad you came over, Alfred," Kay said graciously. "And that we got to meet you. Nanny, you must stay here tonight instead of coming with Eloise and I to the country." She turned to the men. "We were invited to a house party today until tomorrow, but they'll understand that Nanny had to stay in the city."

"You're sure, Kay?" Nanny asked. "I WOULD like to spend as much time as possible with Alfie while 'e's 'ere."

"I'm sure, Nanny," Kay's hand covered Nanny's for a moment and she smiled warmly at the older woman.

"'ow about you, gov'ner? Can you spend the day with us?" Alfred asked Wilkes.

Kay felt the tremor go through Nanny's body and tightened her grip briefly before releasing the hand she was holding.

"I'm afraid I'm busy until five o'clock," Wilkes said regretfully, "but I would be delighted to join you for supper and the trip to the airport!"

"Do you REALLY have to go, Mr. Doolittle?" Eloise asked. "It has been absolutely divine having Nanny's cousin here!"

"It's time, Eloise, my dear," he said, grinning at her. "You and your mother and Nan need to get back into your routine for the New Year, and you don't need an old drunk like me around all the time."

Eloise jumped up and put her arms around the surprised man's neck. "You're not an old drunk, Mr. Doolittle! You're Nanny's cousin!" Then, as if not to leave Wilkes out, she turned and put her arms around Wilkes as well. "And YOU are the bestest neighbour we have, Sir Wilkes!"

"Thank you, Eloise," Wilkes managed to say, returning her hug briefly. His eyes met Nanny's blue ones as he stood up. "I'd best be going in order to get my business completed in time. Shall I come by here for you and Alfred at five?"

"That... that would be wonderful, Sir Wilkes," Nanny said feebly. "We... we could eat here..."

"No, no, no," Alfred shook his head. "I want to treat you to a meal out... you, Nan, because I love you, and the gov'ner 'ere because I owe it to 'im."

"You don't owe me a thing," Wilkes protested, and inwardly he was thinking that had it not been for Alfred's arrival, he would not have been able to spend so much time in the last few days with Nanny, and he most CERTAINLY would not have had the opportunities to kiss her that he had taken to his advantage in that time! "But there are a number of fine restaurants in the city on the way to the airport..."

"And we'll take advantage of a few of them!" Alfred beamed. He winked exaggeratedly. "And I wouldn't say no to stopping at a pub or two on the way!"

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Ta ta, Sir Wilkes!" Eloise cried shrilly, and he turned to her once more, smiling.

"Ta ta, Eloise."

O o O o O o

The day spent with Alfred following Kay's departure with Eloise mid-morning was one Nanny would long remember. All of their childhood memories were brought out and laughed or cried over, and they talked until they were hoarse. Room service kept their beer cold and topped up from mid afternoon on, and they continued talking. The only topics they did not touch on was Nanny's experience long ago with the lover who had scorned her, nor her relationship with Sir Wilkes now.

Then Wilkes was at their door and it was time to go for supper. Nanny was amazed at how Wilkes managed to fit into the closeness between herself and Alfie. It was as though he was one of them, himself, for Lord's sake! And yet it was obvious he was a gentleman from the top of his bowler to the tips of his toes! He wasn't boisterous or raucous but his quiet humour kept them smiling or laughing in the moments when Alfie was busy bolstering his courage to face the airplane flight ahead. Alfred had confided to Nanny earlier that flying was really for the birds, and had he not wanted to check up on her so badly, he would never have trusted his life to a metal machine. "If the Lord above 'ad wanted us to fly, we'd a been born with wings!" he had declared emphatically. "Just you wait, Nan! Just you wait until YOU are asked to do it more and more...!"

"Aoww, Alfie, I fly with Kay and Eloise all the time," Nanny had chuckled. "I feel safe... You know, some things CAN be done without your ordering and manipulating! Without your pulling it, the tide comes in... without your twirling it, the earth can spin..."

"Well, bein' an ordinary man, who desires nothing more than an ordinary chance, I just KNOW the air-ee-oh-plane won't get off the ground tonight without my fervent prayers and spirit-filled body!" Alfred had retorted.

Although Alfred did not appear to show the amount of liquor he consumed over supper, both Nanny and Wilkes were feeling a little wavery when they finally got up and went out to find a cab to take them to the airport.

"You drink too much," Nanny grumbled to Alfred, her hand clutching Wilkes' arm to steady herself.

"Me? 'ow could you SAY such a thing? I'm an ordinary man, with dreams of derring-do..."

"You?" Nanny chuckled, her good humour restored suddenly.

"Me! I'm just an ordinary man 'oo wants to live exactly as I like, and do precisely what I want..."

"I think you're dreaming, Alfie, love," Nanny informed him, amused at his words. "Dreaming of sitting abso-bloomin'-lutely still, never budging 'till spring creeps over the windowsill..."

"Do you still dream, Nan?" Alfred asked seriously.

"Aoww, for sure, sure, sure, Alfie, I do!" Nanny's eyes seemed unfocussed to Wilkes as he watched her closely. She spoke softly, in almost a singsong voice, recalling words she had known since she had been very, very, very young. "Someone's 'ead restin' on my knee, warm and tender as 'e can be, 'oo takes good care of me... Aoww, wouldn't it be loverly?"

"And you, gov'ner? This isn't like you to be sittin' in a place like this with the likes of US! Do you 'ave dreams?" Alfred turned to Wilkes.

"Doesn't everyone, Alfred?" Wilkes looked around and noticed people staring at the three of them curiously, and he smiled faintly, knowing he had never before been uncaring of strangers' curiosity the way he was tonight. "People stop and stare, but they don't bother me for there's no where else on earth that I would rather be. Let the time go by, I won't care..."

"You did it, gov'ner, you did it! I doubted you'd do it, but now I must admit it that succeed you did!"

"What ARE you babbling about, Alfie?" Nanny asked almost impatiently. "And where is the bloody cab? We'd best be going or you'll miss your plane!"

Wilkes almost fell over in his surprise at Nanny's words, and laughter welled up inside him. He was MUCH more inhibited most of the time, but the amount of drink he had consumed tonight had mellowed him to the point that he was finding almost everything amusing. The cab arrived, and he handed Nanny in to the back seat where she sat between the two men.

When they were saying goodbye to him at the airport, Alfred said, "Jolly spot, this, Willy! I should visit 'ere more often!"

"Please don't, and say you did," Nanny said under her breath.

Wilkes muffled his snort of amusement, and his brown eyes twinkled into hers before he shook Alfred's hand heartily. "I must admit, I never thought I'd say this, but I'll miss you, Alfred. I've grown rather accustomed to your face, to having you bounce into my room at all hours of the day or night to ask where my liquor is kept...."

Alfred roared with laughter. "Well, gov'ner, you'll be 'appy to know I don't feel a need to keep tabs on my cousin any more... I'm sure she's in fine 'ands with you!" and he winked. "But I've gotta ask, gov'ner, why can't a woman be more like a man? Men are so decent, such regular chaps, ready to help you through any mishaps, ready to buck you up whenever you are glum. Why can't a woman be a chum, I ask you?"

Nanny shoved at him, then hugged him tightly. "Bye, Alfie, love, and be good... give my love to Liza and 'enry and the children... and take care of yourself!"

"Bye, Nan. I love you." Alfred's eyes were suspiciously shiny. He glared at Wilkes and said, "Be good to 'er," and then he was gone, swinging jauntily down the hallway.

O o O o O o

Noticing that Nanny was fighting to keep her own tears inside as Alfred disappeared, Wilkes offered her his arm in silence, and they made their way out of the airport, getting into a cab at the door. As the cab approached the Plaza, Wilkes suggested that they go for a short walk in the park since no one was expecting them upstairs, and they already had their coats and boots on.

"I'm a little..." Nanny tried to consider how best to describe the feelings that were flooding her. "I've 'ad more to drink than..."

"So have I. Perhaps we should walk it off..."

"Yes, perhaps we should..." Her laugh was contagious.

"Or," Wilkes continued daringly, "Perhaps we could pop into that little pub just over there, and have another drink to celebrate your cousin's visit..."

Nanny chuckled again. "Or perhaps you mean his leaving? I'd like that, Sir Wilkes."

"And I would like it if you would call me Wilkes, and leave off the title," Wilkes said, leaning forward and speaking to the cab driver.

The cab obligingly stopped for them to get out, and after being paid, the driver grinned at Wilkes. "I hope you and your wife have a happy New Year. You know, when I see a couple as much in love as the two of you, it always makes me wish I had married so I could be like you." Then he was gone, leaving the two staring after him somewhat foolishly.

After a moment, Wilkes held out his arm for Nanny to take and they made their way in to the crowded pub where they drank a warm, alcoholic apple cider that made them both feel as if they were wrapped securely in a fuzzy blanket. When they had finished their drinks, Nanny clutched Wilkes' arm as they walked across the street and down the path into the park. It was a beautiful night, with the Christmas lights from the surrounding buildings dancing over the snow. Nanny leaned on him as they walked, thinking he was so solid to hang on to and so sure of himself. Her body tightened in anticipation of what she hoped might come about later. Finding themselves in a secluded area, Wilkes stopped walking suddenly and, freeing his arm from her grasp, cupped her face with his warm hands.

"Do you feel what I am feeling?" he asked abruptly, his eyes on her lips.

"I... I suppose I do..." she said faintly, and she slowly swayed closer to him. There was a nice little kick of heat simmering between them, but Nanny wanted to start a fire.

"I grew accustomed to Alfred's presence, but even more to yours in my suite... and in my arms..." he murmured, his hands sliding down to her shoulders.

Their lips met in a chaste kiss, then another, then another. Then she was in his arms and his hands were slipping under her unbuttoned coat to draw her still closer. Her hands burrowed beneath his coat, too, and their bodies met and shared the warmth generated by their proximity. His kisses were intoxicating. It was the best night of her life, she decided, her head spinning.

"Nanny, I want..." He broke off, realizing what he was about to say and thinking she was too much of a lady to embarrass her so. Besides, the last thing in the world he wanted to do was to remind her of the other man who had used her and so cruelly tossed her aside.

"So do I, Willy, so do I..." she said huskily.

They kissed again, his hands pressing her against him until neither could stand the ache. She felt his leaping response against her, an incredible sign that his blood had surged quickly in reaction to her closeness. It gave her a sense of feminine power that her body was exciting to him, for all the extra pounds age had added. The skin of his jaw rasped her face as he deepened the kiss with an urgency that thrilled her. She felt her lips swelling beneath the demanding pressure of his and her whole body quivered with longing to feel more and more of his touch. The sound of his deep groan rumbling in his throat signalled that she was having much the same effect on him as he was on her. She whimpered softly as her body exploded with desire.

"Are you hungry?" he asked hoarsely.

"Not for food," Nanny said boldly, and undulated her hips against him once more.

He kissed her again, branding her with a swift, hard kiss before releasing her. Nanny swayed a little on her feet, feeling disoriented and unfocussed.

"Come, Nanny," Wilkes said, his voice sounding deep and gravelly. He wasn't too clear on what was happening, not being used to doing much drinking. The drinks had gone down way too easily that evening. All he knew for sure now was that he wanted to get Nanny someplace where he could kiss her with no one around, so no one could see them. His head was spinning, and he kept hearing the cab driver's voice in his head, repeating, 'you and your wife'. Wilkes pondered that, and it fit so well with his desires that suddenly it seemed quite clear to him that he HAD married Nanny, just as he had wanted for a while now. He didn't remember ever seeing her so happy as she was now, patting his arm lovingly and her face glowing as she rubbed it against his shoulder. She blinked at him curiously as if she might be seeing three of him, or perhaps she was just trying to figure out why he was taking so long to get them somewhere private. His steps quickened.

Nanny racked her brain for something to say, but for the life of her couldn't think of a single thing. She dazedly hurried with him back through the park, across to the street and into the Plaza. Thankful that Max was off duty, they went up alone in the elevator, taking the opportunity to kiss and touch some more. On the sixteenth floor, they almost fell out of the elevator and hurried right past Nanny's door to Wilkes' suite, their bodies humming with desire and certainty.

Once inside, Wilkes locked the door and dropped his coat on the floor, toeing off his boots at the same time. Nanny did the same, somewhat more awkwardly, as they never let the other go.

"I can't think straight when you kiss me," Wilkes tried to shake his head to clear it, but it was no use.

"Why are you thinking at a time like this?" she replied, her lips on his again.

"Nanny, Nanny, oh, Nan, I WANT you..." Wilkes panted as he covered her face with kisses, and held her close. "I've been imagining what it would be like to..."

"Willy, I..." Her voice failed her.

"Tell me you don't want to make love with me," he added, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck. "Tell me, and I'll let you go right now."

How could she even think straight, let alone speak intelligently with his tongue rasping along the sensitive skin around her ear? She wasn't thinking straight, she realized in a warm, fuzzy, thoroughly distracted way. Part of her knew she was behaving in a highly improper manner, but the other part recognized that she was where she belonged, here in his arms. She should be nervous, she should not allow him to continue, she should not have enticed him... yet she had never felt so sure of anything nor so at peace in her entire life. "Willy, please, please, please..."

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, hoping she would say no.... suspecting she would say no... SURE she would say no! After all, what wife would NOT say 'no, don't stop' to a loving, beloved husband such as himself? The cab driver had SAID they were a couple... the man had SAID that Nanny was Wilkes' wife... hadn't he? So even if Wilkes couldn't exactly remember the wedding, it must have happened. Nanny moved against him enticingly again, and Wilkes forgot everything but how much he loved the woman in his arms.

Entwined together, they stumbled into the bedroom and fell on the bed. He fumbled with the buttons on her blouse and his hand slipped beneath her camisole to caress and stroke the heated skin. She gasped and arched closer to him and, at the resultant shaft of pleasure coursing through her, she began to pulse with a sweet agony that only Wilkes could relieve.

"Please, Willy, please..." she heard herself almost chanting. Her eyes were having a hard time focussing. It was better than any dreams she had ever had... yet all too soon, it seemed, reality intruded even as they continued to kiss. Lying in Wilkes' arms, knowing she must soon return to her own suite before she utterly disgraced herself, Nanny finally whispered against his lips, holding his hands captive against her chest, "I shouldn't be here. It's not RIGHT..."

"You feel right to me..." Wilkes murmured, hugging her a little tighter, his heart thumping madly against her.

"But... but it can't work," she said hesitantly, courageously voicing her doubts. "You have different needs, for Lord's sake! We are from different stations in life..."

"I don't care about stations in life," Wilkes nuzzled her neck, and she lifted her chin to grant him access to her throat. "There's nowhere else on earth that I would rather be than here in your arms. It's a towering feeling just to know somehow you are near. An overpowering feeling, you might say, to have you here... in these rooms where I live."

Still, she had to try to make him see sense! "But..."

Suddenly Wilkes was overpowered by a wave of tiredness that swept everything before it, including his desire to continue this delightful lovemaking. It had to be the drinking. He just wasn't used to having so much alcohol... If Alfred hadn't influenced him so much the last few days, he would be happily loving his beautiful wife, but as it was... Wilkes just couldn't keep his eyes open or his mind focussed any more. "Let's just go to sleep, Nanny," he murmured drowsily, his body heavy beside her. "We'll worry about everything in the morning."

"SLEEP? You think I can sleep now? I couldn't sleep tonight! Not for all the jewels in the crown!" Nanny smiled crookedly at him, her fingers moving languidly over his chest which she had bared in her frenzied arousal earlier.

"Hmmm." He kissed her once more, tucking her close to his side, and surprisingly they both fell asleep almost immediately.

O o O o O o

As the faint beginnings dawn began to creep into the room, Nanny stirred. "Aoww!" she cried in surprise when she realized the warm bulk she was snuggled against moved and grunted. "Aoww, Sir Wilkes... I..." She was horrified that she had actually spent the entire night in his bed. She had obviously had much too much to drink last night! Struggling to free herself from his embrace, she tried to sort through her fuzzy memories. They hadn't really done anything but, well, kiss... and cuddle... had they? "Oh my LORD..."

"Where are you going, Nanny?" Wilkes sounded puzzled, and his hands tightened on her, preventing her from escaping his bed. For all he had heard about 'the morning after', he was suddenly surprisingly wide awake and coherent... and he knew that if he allowed Nanny to leave without insisting she marry him, he would be even WORSE than the blackguard who had hurt her long ago.

"I shouldn't be here..." she moaned, holding her blouse together where it gaped open and struggling to pull her skirt down. At least she wasn't BARE beside him, for Lord's sake!

Wilkes sighed. "Are we back to that again? There are other things I would love to hear repeated. For example, the sighs and loving murmurs you whispered in my ear last night when I nibbled on your neck and earlobe..." He pressed light kisses on her cheeks and jawline and once more nibbled on her ear.

"Ohhh, Willy..." Nanny melted instantly once again, unable to resist his caresses. She struggled to say, "But it's not right. You're above my station... I'm only a nanny and you're a KNIGHT..."

"Nanny, I love you." His words hung in the air and he stopped teasing her with his lips and raised his head, gazing down at her. "I love YOU, not your job, not your station in life... even though they are a part of you that I wouldn't ever wish away. It's... it's what Kay said. You are the other part of me that I've been missing all my life until now. My soulmate... my love. Please, marry me, Nan. Marry me soon. Make me a complete, beloved person, and allow me to do the same for you. We weren't made to live alone, and now that I've found you and experienced this incredible link, I don't want to ever let you go... not even for another night. I... I don't remember much about last night, so if I hurt you, I'm dreadfully sorry. The last thing I wanted was to take advantage of you. But Nanny, please, I need you here, in my bed, in my arms, in my heart, now and always. Please, Nanny... Marry me."

Nanny could hardly believe her ears, or the evidence of his very real desire for her burgeoning once more against her hip. "Oh my Lord, are you sure, sure, sure, Willy? Absolutely?" Her eyes searched his for the slightest hint of indecision, but couldn't find any. All she could see in his dear brown eyes was an overwhelming love that she knew was hers alone... a gift she only needed to accept. And she DID love him, she knew that, however wrong it was. From the moment she had first seen him, he had made her feel things no other man before him had ever made her feel. Yes, in general she was content with her life, and while she didn't really NEED a man to make her feel complete, she most certainly WANTED him... and LOVED him. "W-Willy, I LOVE you! I absolutely do, do, do!"

"Is that a yes? You'll marry me? Today, if possible?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"It's just like what Kay said," Wilkes said a short while later.

"What's that, Willy?" Nanny asked dreamily, her head resting on his shoulder.

"If we give our innermost soul to each other, if we SAY what we are thinking instead of keeping it inside, we CAN be whole."

"Hmmm," Nanny agreed. "That is what love is ... a gift of ourselves to the other."

"Tell me you don't want to wait until your cousin can come back before we are married..." Wilkes grinned, his hands beginning to fan the flames of desire burning over her once again. "You WILL marry me today if it can be arranged? I want to love you completely and fully... as my wife."

"Yesssss..." Nanny's breath caught as his lips pressed light kisses over her face and throat. "As... as long as... Eloise and... Kay... ooh, Wilkes... are here... and... ohhhh... agree..." she panted.

He stopped his delightful torture and sat up suddenly, staring down at her. "You won't marry me today unless they agree to it? Nan, I love Eloise dearly, but what if she decides she wants to keep you as her mostly companion, and says she doesn't agree to our marriage?"

"She will agree, Willy, for sure, sure, sure," Nanny soothed him, drawing him back into her arms. "She will agree. Oh my Lord, she absolutely HAS to!"

O o O o O o

When Kay and Eloise returned later that morning, Nanny was nervously pacing the living room of her suite, looking at her watch and twisting the gleaming sapphire and diamond ring on her left hand – Wilkes' mother's engagement ring. Wilkes had gone to get the special licence for their wedding that evening, and Miss Thompson had spent an hour with Nanny making arrangements for the room the marriage would take place in and the subsequent reception. Prunella Stickler had not returned to the Plaza since Christmas Eve and the loss of face she had sustained when Brooks Oliver had turned out to be an imposter and a wanted man. All the other staff of the Plaza had been wild with excitement when the news had leaked out that Nanny and Sir Wilkes were to be married that very evening, and everyone was planning to be on hand. Mr. Peabody had offered to walk the bride down the aisle, but Nanny had refused gently, saying that it really should be Eloise doing the honours.

Kay took one look at Nanny, the gaze encompassing Nanny's left hand and her blue eyes shining with a mixture of fear and happiness, and she sprang at the older woman and clasped her in a tight embrace which Nanny returned wholeheartedly, tears falling from both sets of eyes. Eloise stood stock still in amazed wonder to see her mother and Nanny hugging each other and crying.

"When?" Kay choked out, taking Nanny's hand and examining the ring, then hugging her again.

"'e asked me this morning... and the wedding is to be... tonight..." Nanny said hesitantly.

"Tonight?" Kay stared. "TONIGHT?"

"What wedding? Whose wedding? Bill and Rachel's? STOP IGNORING ME!" Eloise cried. "I absolutely HATE that!"

"'e doesn't want to wait any longer... nor do I, for Lord's sake!" Nanny confessed. "But Kay, I won't if you..."

"Nonsense! And Nanny, I've been keeping a secret from you, too... I told Eloise this morning..."

"We're getting married, Nanny!" Eloise announced loudly, pushing in to stare up at Nanny. "Me and Maman and YOU. And we're moving to Paris!"

"Eloise," both women began, then Nanny stared at Kay. "YOU are getting married?" she asked. "THAT is the news you were keeping from me?"

A small smile trembled around Kay's lips, and she nodded. "It seems love is in the air this Christmas," she said. "I should have known I wasn't fooling you by keeping quiet. I wasn't sure how to tell you... and now I find that all my worry is for nothing."

"So we'll all be happy in Paris together!" Eloise added brightly.

"Errr..." Nanny hated to hurt the child, but...

"Actually, Eloise, I was wrong this morning about one thing," Kay shot Nanny a look as if to say, 'I'll handle it' and she knelt down beside her daughter. "You see, I forgot to think about Nanny's feelings. That's why we have to think of others, and talk to them about our feelings. That's one way we show our love for each other, by telling each other our thoughts. And because I didn't tell Nanny earlier, well, we might have a problem."

"But you won't mind moving, will you, Nanny?" Eloise looked up at Nanny imploringly. "You're my mostly companion! You absolutely HAVE to come to Paris and marry with us!"

"Actually, love," Nanny began.

Again Kay interrupted her, speaking softly to Eloise. "Eloise, you know Nanny has liked Sir Wilkes for a long time, right?"

"Oh YES! It was a secret, but I could see it."

"Well, Sir Wilkes obviously saw it, too, and since he likes her as well...."

"I could see that, too. His breathing doesn't go funny like Nanny's, but he gets red the way she does."

"So," Kay continued, "This morning he TOLD Nanny that he likes her, too, and they are going to get married... tonight."

"TONIGHT? MARRIED? TONIGHT?" Eloise was staggered. "NANNY AND SIR WILKES?"

Just then, a tap came at the door, then Wilkes appeared in the doorway shyly, hesitating when he saw the three huddled together. "I, er..."

Kay got to her feet and came up to Wilkes, holding out both hands. "Sir Wilkes. I'm so happy for you and Nanny..." She took his hands and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for seeing her and loving her..." she whispered in his ear. "She's very dear to me."

"And to me," he whispered back, beaming at the woman he knew Nanny loved as the daughter she had never had.

"Sir Wilkes!" Eloise announced, pulling out of Nanny's arms even as the older woman was trying to hold her back, and marching up to Wilkes. "Do you LOVE Nanny?"

"I do indeed, Eloise. Very much," he replied solemnly.

Looking like she was still trying to catch her breath after the surprise, Eloise finally said, "Then I guess you can marry her... and come to France with us. WE are getting married, too, you know! Maman told me this morning!"

"Err, you are? France??" Wilkes looked from Eloise to Kay and finally his eyes rested on Nanny.

"Eloise, love," Nanny said softly, coming up to Wilkes and taking his arm before reaching for Eloise with her free hand, "We are not moving to France with you. Sir Wilkes and I will live here and in England. But," She stopped Eloise's protests with a finger to the child's lips and smiled, "but when we are in England, we will be close, close, close to France, so we will come to visit you and you will come to visit us, and we will have an absolutely divine time!"

"We will?" Eloise looked interested but still somewhat hesitant.

"We ALL will," Kay said firmly. "And we will ALL be happy!"

"And Eloise," Nanny said, coaxing a reluctant smile out of the little girl, "I want YOU to walk me down the aisle and give me to Sir Wilkes at our wedding."

"ME?" Eloise's eyes grew round.

"For sure, sure, sure. And you can wear your pretty pink dress..."

"Oh, Nanny, I absolutely love you!" and Eloise flung herself into Nanny's arms again. Then she peered around Nanny at Wilkes and asked, "and can I call you Sir Grandpa when you've married Nanny?"

"You may call me anything you like, Eloise," he beamed, patting her head even as he put his arm around Nanny and nodded at Kay. "When my fair Nanny is my wife, I'll be the happiest man alive. Actually, I do believe I am right now!"

O o O o O o

Later that night, after publicly promising to love each other forevermore and their covenant of marriage being duly recognized by the community of their friends and the state of New York, Nanny and Wilkes found themselves alone in Wilkes' suite once more. Slowly, lovingly, they undressed each other, delighting in uncovering the mysteries of the other's body and the exact places that needed special attention. She held him tightly as spasms of pleasure convulsed her body. Oh my Lord, she loved this man and had wanted to be with him like this from the first moment she had seen him. As his hands continued to move over her, she knew that nothing else existed, save this moment. Time had stopped for them to love. Her unhappy past forgotten, she clung to her beloved present...

Staring up at his features afterwards, Nanny knew she had just found the part of her that had always been missing. They had gifted each other with their innermost souls and now at last they were wholly one. "I love you, Willy... my soulmate," she murmured.

"You are my soulmate, too, Nanny..." Wilkes whispered in her ear as he lay half on top of her, breathing heavily from their exertions. "My love... my fair Nanny..."

THE END


End file.
